Surgical safety checklist is associated with improved operating room safety culture, reduced wound complications, and unplanned readmissions in a pilot study in neurosurgery

Boosting teamwork between scrub nurses and neurosurgeons: exploring the value of a role-played hands-on, cadaver-free simulation and systematic review of the literature

Background

Recently, non-technical skills (NTS) and teamwork in particular have been demonstrated to be essential in many jobs, in business as well as in medical specialties, including plastic, orthopedic, and general surgery. However, NTS and teamwork in neurosurgery have not yet been fully studied. We reviewed the relevant literature and designed a mock surgery to be used as a team-building activity specifically designed for scrub nurses and neurosurgeons.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review by searching PubMed (Medline) and CINAHL, including relevant articles in English published until 15 July 2023. Then, we proposed a pilot study consisting of a single-session, hands-on, and cadaver-free activity, based on role play. Scrub nurses were administered the SPLINTS (Scrub Practitioners' List of Intraoperative Non-Technical Skills) rating form as a self-evaluation at baseline and 20-30 days after the simulation. During the experiment, surgeons and scrub nurses role-played as each other, doing exercises including a simulated glioma resection surgery performed on an advanced model of a cerebral tumor (Tumor Box, UpSurgeOn®) under an exoscope. At the end, every participant completed an evaluation questionnaire.

Results

A limited number of articles are available on the topic. This study reports one of the first neurosurgical team-building activities in the literature. All the participating scrub nurses and neurosurgeons positively evaluated the simulation developed on a roleplay. The use of a physical simulator seems an added value, as the tactile feedback given by the model further helps to understand the actual surgical job, more than only observing and assisting. The SPLINTS showed a statistically significant improvement not only in "Communication and Teamwork" (p = 0.048) but also in "Situation Awareness" (p = 0.031).

Conclusion

Our study suggests that team-building activities may play a role in improving interprofessional teamwork and other NTS in neurosurgery.

The Creation of a Pediatric Surgical Checklist for Adult Providers

Purpose

To address the need for a pediatric surgical checklist for adult providers.

Background

Pediatric surgery is unique due to the specific needs and many tasks that are employed in the care of adults require accommodations for children. There are some resources for adult surgeons to perform safe pediatric surgery and to assist such surgeons in pediatric emergencies, we created a straightforward checklist based on current literature. We propose a surgical checklist as the value of surgical checklists has been validated through research in a variety of applications.

Methods

Literature review on PubMed to gather information on current resources for pediatric surgery, all papers on surgical checklists describing their outcomes as of October 2022 were included to prevent a biased overview of the existing literature. Interviews with multiple pediatric surgeons were conducted for the creation of a checklist that is relevant to the field and has limited bias.

Results

42 papers with 8529061 total participants were included. The positive impact of checklists was highlighted throughout the literature in terms of outcomes, financial cost and team relationship. Certain care checkpoints emerged as vital checklist items: antibiotic administration, anesthetic considerations, intraoperative hemodynamics and postoperative resuscitation. The result was the creation of a checklist that is not substitutive for existing WHO surgery checklists but additive for adult surgeons who must operate on children in emergencies.

Conclusion

The outcomes measured throughout the literature are varied and thus provide both a nuanced view of a variety of factors that must be taken into account and are limited in the amount of evidence for each outcome. We hope to implement the checklist developed to create a standard of care for pediatric surgery performed in low resource settings by adult surgeons and further evaluate its impact on emergency pediatric surgery outcomes.

Funding

Fulbright Fogarty Fellowship, GHES NIH FIC D43 TW010540.

Development and implementation of an intraoperative documentation protocol for enhancing patient safety in the operating room: A mixed methods protocol study

BACKGROUND

Documentation is an important part of the patient care process; however, there is no regular program for documenting intraoperative care in Iran. This study was conducted to design an intraoperative documentation for enhancing patient safety in the operating room (OR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This exploratory, mixed-methods, qualitative-quantitative study (in 2021) consists of four phases. The first phase involves a conventional content analysis of healthcare providers in the OR to identify the needs, strategies, and content of a pertinent documentation. In this phase, purposeful sampling will be used to collect data through semi-structured interviews. In the second phase, a literature review will be carried out to extract the documentation procedures in the intraoperative period in many other countries. In the third phase, a panel of experts is recruited and the classic Delphi (RAND) technique is run to validate the initial draft of the designed program and, the protocol is then finalized. In the last phase, the designed protocol will be implemented through a quasi-experimental study in one group (before and after intervention), and the effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated.

DISCUSSION

To design a protocol for intraoperative documentation, healthcare providers' experiences during surgery in the Iranian healthcare setting, where the lack of documentation might forensically harm both the healthcare providers and the patients, will be explored. This information alongside some universal standards developed in other countries should help improve patients' safety in ORs.

Endoscopic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery Complication Avoidance: A Contemporary Review

The endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) provides a direct trajectory to ventral skull base lesions, avoidance of brain retraction, and clear visualization of cranial nerves as they exit skull base foramina. Despite these benefits, the EEA is not without complications. Here, we review published literature highlighting complications associated with the EEA including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak, cranial nerve (CN) dysfunction, pituitary gland dysfunction, internal carotid artery (ICA) injury, infection, and others; we place special emphasis on discussing the prevention of these complications. As widespread adoption of the EEA continues, it becomes critical to educate surgeons regarding potential complications and their prevention while identifying gaps in the current literature to guide future research and advances in clinical care.

Safety and Quality in Syndromic Neurosurgery

The developing field of syndromic neurosurgery has significant challenges and opportunities in quality and safety. Quality care must be safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable; the Donabedian model focused on system structures, processes, and outcomes is a helpful framework to guide improvement in these areas. Ultimately, a successful syndromic neurosurgery program will bring together an interested multidisciplinary team of experts who will grow care through open communication and steady improvement efforts.

Do We Feel Safe About the Surgical Safety Checklist? A Cross-Sectional Study Between Two Periods

Introduction

The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in the healthcare providers' perceptions regarding the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist (WHO SSC) and patient safety in the operating room (OR) at a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City. Data were collected from two years (2011 and 2019) for comparison. The co-investigators distributed a self-administered Likert scale questionnaire in the various operating areas (35 ORs).

Results

The total sample was 461. Number of participants enrolled from both years was 235 (51%) and 226 (49%), respectively. The results indicated a statistically significant difference in the attitude of the participants regarding all aspects of patient safety in the OR when the two periods were compared (p < 0.001). Similarly, healthcare providers' perceptions regarding the importance of the WHO SSC increased from 50% (2011) excellent to 68% excellent (2019) (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Currently, more healthcare providers recognize the importance of the WHO SSC, and more have a positive attitude toward teamwork, communication, and feeling free to speak out when surgical safety is compromised. All of these cultural changes have positive impact on the overall safety of the OR; however, there are still aspects requiring improvement to provide a safer OR and surgery. Educational interventions regarding the importance of communication and teamwork would improve the safety of surgical care in the OR.

Impact of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist Relative to Its Design and Intended Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to identify what parts of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist (WHO SSC) are working, what can be done to make it more effective, and to determine if it achieved its intended effect relative to its design and intended use.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis and meta-meta-analyses of findings in WHO SSC systematic reviews following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines.

RESULTS

Twenty systematic reviews were included for qualitative thematic analysis. Narrative information was coded in 4 primary areas with a focus on impact of the WHO SSC. Four themes-Clinical Outcomes, Process Measures, Team Dynamics and Communication, and Safety Culture-pertained directly to the aims or purposes behind the development of the SSC. The other 2 themes-Efficiency and Workload involved in using the checklist and Checklist Impact on Institutional Practices-are associated with SSC use, but were not focal areas considered during its development. Included in the 20 systematic reviews were 24 unique observational cohort studies that reported pre-post data on a total of 18 clinical outcomes. Mortality, morbidity, surgical site infection, pneumonia, unplanned return to the operating room, urinary tract infection, blood loss requiring transfusion, unplanned intubation, and sepsis favored the use of the WHO SSC. Deep vein thrombosis was the only postoperative outcome assessed that did not favor use of the WHO SSC.

CONCLUSIONS

The WHO SSC positively impacts the things it was explicitly designed to address and does not positively impact things it was not explicitly designed for.

Surgical Teams' Attitudes About Surgical Safety and the Surgical Safety Checklist at 10 Years: A Multinational Survey

To assess health care professionals' attitudes on the Surgical Safety Checklist ("the Checklist") in resource-rich health systems and provide insights on strategies for optimizing Checklist use.

Background

In use for over a decade, the Checklist is a safety instrument aimed at improving operating room communication, teamwork, and evidence-based safety practices.

Methods

An online survey was sent to surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists in 5 high-income countries (Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand). Survey results were analyzed using SPSS.

Results

A total of 2032 health care professionals completed the survey. Of these respondents, 47.6% were nurses, 70.5% were women, 65.1% were from the United States, and 50.0% had 20 years of experience or more in their role. Most respondents felt the Checklist positively impacted patient safety (70.9%), team communication (73.1%), and teamwork (58.9%). Only 50.3% of respondents were satisfied their team's use of the Checklist, and only 47.5% reported team members stopping to fully participate in the process. More nurses lacked confidence regarding their role in the Checklist process than surgeons and anesthesiologists combined (8.9% vs 4.3%). Fewer surgeons and anesthesiologists than nurses felt they received adequate training on the Checklist's use (57.8% vs 76.7%).

Conclusions

While most respondents perceive the Checklist as enhancing patient safety, not all surgical team members are actively engaging with its use. To enhance buy-in and meaningful use of the Checklist, health systems should provide more training on the Checklist with respect to its purpose and strengthening teamwork.

An Examination of Factors That Predict the Perioperative Culture of Safety

The perioperative setting is an intricate, complicated work environment in which patients are vulnerable to adverse events. Using a convenience sample, we examined relationships between the length of perioperative nurse experience, perioperative nurse engagement, and an OR culture of safety. We explored differences in safety culture scores based on CNOR certification status. There was no significant relationship between the length of perioperative nurse experience and the level of OR culture of safety. However, perioperative nurse engagement had a significant relationship with an OR culture of safety (P < .001), and this factor was a significant predictor of an OR culture of safety (P < .001). Perioperative nurses who held CNOR certification had significantly higher culture of safety scores compared with those who did not (P = .004). Additional research on perioperative nurse engagement and factors relating to patient safety may help perioperative leaders develop and implement engagement strategies.

"Spine Surgery Checklist": A Step towards Perfection through Protocols

Study Design

This was a retrospective study.

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel checklist that was designed specifically for the "spine-surgerysubspecialty" to reduce the incidence of some common preventable human errors and major perioperative complications in spine surgery.

Overview of Literature

We proposed a unique spine surgery-specific checklist that recognizes the risk factors, anticipates the possible human errors, and thus helps in preventing these errors. This checklist is associated with increased patient safety awareness, improved communication (keeps everyone updated regarding their responsibilities), reduction in the surgical claims, and reduction in the number of postoperative complications, including mortality.

Methods

This retrospective pilot study was performed at single center on 858 spine surgery patients. The patients were divided into the following two groups: the study group (after implementation of the checklist [2016-2017]) and the control group (before the implementation of the checklist [2015-2016]). The incidence of common preventable human errors and major perioperative complications in spine surgeries were recorded and compared between the two groups.

Results

The prevalence of wrong-level surgeries was 0%, and the overall prevalence of the preventable errors was 1.22% (5/410). The rate of adverse, near-miss, and no-harm events was 0%, 0.73% (3/410), and 0.48% (2/410), respectively. The preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative errors were 0.48% (2/410), 0.24% (1/410), and 0.48% (2/410), respectively. The reoperation rate related to preventable errors reduced after the checklist was used. There were significant differences in the total preventable errors related to complications, such as infections, prolonged hospital stays, and unplanned hospital readmission/revision surgeries (p=0.001).

Conclusions

The authors proposed the first-of-its kind spine surgery-specific checklist that is comprehensive and involves perioperative parameters. The checklist is easy to use, safe, and effective for reducing the unforgiving errors and perioperative complications. However, its broader implementation would require validation in large, multi-center, randomized control studies.

Interventions to improve team effectiveness within health care: a systematic review of the past decade

BACKGROUND

A high variety of team interventions aims to improve team performance outcomes. In 2008, we conducted a systematic review to provide an overview of the scientific studies focused on these interventions. However, over the past decade, the literature on team interventions has rapidly evolved. An updated overview is therefore required, and it will focus on all possible team interventions without restrictions to a type of intervention, setting, or research design.

OBJECTIVES

To review the literature from the past decade on interventions with the goal of improving team effectiveness within healthcare organizations and identify the "evidence base" levels of the research.

METHODS

Seven major databases were systematically searched for relevant articles published between 2008 and July 2018. Of the original search yield of 6025 studies, 297 studies met the inclusion criteria according to three independent authors and were subsequently included for analysis. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation Scale was used to assess the level of empirical evidence.

RESULTS

Three types of interventions were distinguished: (1) Training, which is sub-divided into training that is based on predefined principles (i.e. CRM: crew resource management and TeamSTEPPS: Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety), on a specific method (i.e. simulation), or on general team training. (2) Tools covers tools that structure (i.e. SBAR: Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation, (de)briefing checklists, and rounds), facilitate (through communication technology), or trigger (through monitoring and feedback) teamwork. (3) Organizational (re)design is about (re)designing structures to stimulate team processes and team functioning. (4) A programme is a combination of the previous types. The majority of studies evaluated a training focused on the (acute) hospital care setting. Most of the evaluated interventions focused on improving non-technical skills and provided evidence of improvements.

CONCLUSION

Over the last decade, the number of studies on team interventions has increased exponentially. At the same time, research tends to focus on certain interventions, settings, and/or outcomes. Principle-based training (i.e. CRM and TeamSTEPPS) and simulation-based training seem to provide the greatest opportunities for reaching the improvement goals in team functioning.

World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist with Addition of Infection Control Items: Intervention Study in Egypt

BACKGROUND

Surgical team is in command of the operating room (OR) and takes decisions regarding various patient care procedures. Educational programs directed to them, should be creative, provocative and tailored to their specific needs and the expected outcomes.

AIM

This study aims to design and conduct an educational program of patient safety and infection control for the OR team based on the WHO surgical safety checklist and to assess their post-intervention knowledge and practices.

METHODS

This interventional study was conducted at the ORs of Port-said general hospital. It passed through three stages; baseline assessment of knowledge and practice regarding patient safety and infection control among OR team (surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses), intervention stage in which an educational program based on the WHO surgical safety checklist with modifications and additions of more infection control items was conducted, then re-assessment of their post-intervention knowledge and practices.

RESULTS

All the studied participants showed improvement in both knowledge and practices of patient safety and infection control after the educational program based on the WHO surgical safety checklist with modifications and additions of more infection control items and including not only practices but also knowledge as well, than before.

CONCLUSION

The modification of the WHO surgical safety checklist to fit local knowledge and practices created a comprehensive tool that led to an improvement in both knowledge and practices of patient safety and infection control among the OR team.

The Need for Surgical Safety Checklists in Neurosurgery Now and in the Future-A Systematic Review

Safety checklists have been studied among various surgical patient groups, but evidence of their benefits in neurosurgery remains sparse. Since the implementation of the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist, their use has become widespread. The aim of this review was to systematically review the state of the literature on surgical safety checklists in neurosurgery. Also, in the new era of robotics and artificial intelligence, there is a need to re-evaluate patient safety procedures in neurosurgery. A systematic review was conducted on PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, and MEDLINE for articles published between 2008 and 2016 using MeSH (medical subject heading) terms and keywords describing postoperative complications and surgical adverse events, and some additional searches were carried out until January 2019. Twenty-six original studies or reviews were eligible for this review. They were categorized into studies with patient-related outcomes, personnel-related outcomes, or previous reviews. Checklist use in neurosurgery was found to reduce hospital-acquired infectious complications and to enhance operating room safety culture. Checklists seem to improve patient safety in neurosurgery, although the amount of evidence is still limited. Despite their shortcomings, checklists are here to stay, and new research is required to update checklists to meet the requirements of the transforming working environment of the neurosurgery operating room.

Impacts of the surgical safety checklist on postoperative clinical outcomes in gastrointestinal tumor patients: A single-center cohort study

A 19-item surgical safety checklist (SSC) was published by the World Health Organization in 2008 and was proved to reduce postoperative complications. To date, however, the impacts of SSC implementation in China have not been evaluated clearly. The study was performed to evaluate the impacts of the SSC on postoperative clinical outcomes in gastrointestinal tumor patients.Between April 2007 and March 2013, 7209 patients with gastrointestinal tumor who underwent elective surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were studied. Data on the clinical records and outcomes of 3238 consecutive surgeries prior to SSC implementation were retrospectively collected; data on another 3971 consecutive surgeries performed after SSC implementation were prospectively collected. The clinical outcomes (including mortality, morbidity, readmission, reoperation, unplanned intervention and postoperative hospital stay) within postoperative 30 days were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify independent factors for postoperative complications.The rates of morbidity and in-hospital mortality before and after SSC implementation were 16.43% vs 14.33% (P = .018), 0.46% vs 0.18% (P = .028), respectively. Median of postoperative hospital stay in post-implementation group was shorter than that in pre-implementation group (8 vs 9 days, P < .001). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that the SSC was an independent factor influencing postoperative complications (odds ratio = 0.860; 95% CI, 0.750-0.988).Implementation of the SSC could improve the clinical outcomes in gastrointestinal tumor patients undergoing elective surgery in China.

Implementation strategies to reduce surgical site infections: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Surgical site infections (SSIs) portend high patient morbidity and mortality. Although evidence-based clinical interventions can reduce SSIs, they are not reliably delivered in practice, and data are limited on the best approach to improve adherence.

OBJECTIVE

To summarize implementation strategies aimed at improving adherence to evidence-based interventions that reduce SSIs.

DESIGN

Systematic reviewMethods:We searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, the WHO Regional databases, AFROLIB, and Africa-Wide for studies published between January 1990 and December 2015. The Effective Practice and Organization Care (EPOC) criteria were used to identify an acceptable-quality study design. We used structured forms to extract data on implementation strategies and grouped them into an implementation model called the "Four Es" framework (ie, engage, educate, execute, and evaluate).

RESULTS

In total, 125 studies met our inclusion criteria, but only 8 studies met the EPOC criteria, which limited our ability to identify best practices. Most studies used multifaceted strategies to improve adherence with evidence-based interventions. Engagement strategies included multidisciplinary work and strong leadership involvement. Education strategies included various approaches to introduce evidence-based practices to clinicians and patients. Execution strategies standardized the interventions into simple tasks to facilitate uptake. Evaluation strategies assessed adherence with evidence-based interventions and patient outcomes, providing feedback of performance to providers.

CONCLUSIONS

Multifaceted implementation strategies represent the most common approach to facilitating the adoption of evidence-based practices. We believe that this summary of implementation strategies complements existing clinical guidelines and may accelerate efforts to reduce SSIs.

Analysis of hospital infection register indicates that the implementation of WHO surgical safety checklist has an impact on early postoperative neurosurgical infections

WHO surgical safety checklist has been proven to reduce postoperative infections in several studies. The aim of our study was to focus on surgical site infections (SSIs) after neurosurgical operations, and to determine whether the checklist implementation would have an impact on the reported SSIs. We used hospital-acquired infection (HAI) register to evaluate the effects of WHO surgical safety checklist in neurosurgery. The HAI register was searched for superficial and deep SSIs, deep organ SSIs, infections following orthopaedic implantation, and other surgical infections of 4678 neurosurgical patients operated on between 2007 and 2011. The data analysis consisted of 95 and 104 neurosurgical postoperative infections before and after the checklist implementation. Time from operation to infection was shorter before than after checklist implementation (p = 0.039), indicating a positive effect of the checklist use in the onset of early HAIs. The overall incidence of SSIs of all neurosurgical patients did not differ (4.1% and 4.5%, respectively) and no differences were noticed in the incidences of the subgroups of superficial SSIs, deep SSIs, and deep organ SSIs. The reduction in early postoperative infection rate along with checklist implementation, but not in the long run indicates the complexity of preventing HAIs in neurosurgical patients and need for a multistep infection control approach.

Looking beyond the checklist: An ethnography of interprofessional operating room safety cultures

The Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) has been adopted in operating rooms (OR) worldwide to reduce medical errors, increase patient safety and improve interprofessional communication. Despite often high compliance rates, recent studies suggested the SSC has not been associated with significant reductions in operative mortality or complications. This ethnographic study sought to understand this disconnection through approximately 50 hours of observation in the OR and 10 in-depth semi-structured interviews with surgeons, nurses, and anaesthesiologists in orthopaedic surgery. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. By spending time in the OR and listening to the staff, this study was able to look beyond what "ought" to be happening in the OR and garner a deep understanding of the realities of OR work that acknowledges the complexities of surgical culture in which the SSC is being implemented. This study found SSC compliance was influenced by the perceived (un)importance of individual checklist items within the orthopaedic setting. Additionally, there remains a need to further explore patients' involvement in their operative experience.

Postoperative Adverse Events Inconsistently Improved by the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist: A Systematic Literature Review of 25 Studies

BACKGROUND

The World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) has been widely implemented in an effort to decrease surgical adverse events.

METHOD

This systematic literature review examined the effects of the SSC on postoperative outcomes. The review included 25 studies: two randomised controlled trials, 13 prospective and ten retrospective cohort trials. A meta-analysis was not conducted as combining observational studies of heterogeneous quality may be highly biased.

RESULTS

The quality of the studies was largely suboptimal; only four studies had a concurrent control group, many studies were underpowered to examine specific postoperative outcomes and teamwork-training initiatives were often combined with the implementation of the checklist, confounding the results. The effects of the checklist were largely inconsistent. Postoperative complications were examined in 20 studies; complication rates significantly decreased in ten and increased in one. Eighteen studies examined postoperative mortality. Rates significantly decreased in four and increased in one. Postoperative mortality rates were not significantly decreased in any studies in developed nations, whereas they were significantly decreased in 75 % of studies conducted in developing nations.

CONCLUSIONS

The checklist may be associated with a decrease in surgical adverse events and this effect seems to be greater in developing nations. With the observed incongruence between specific postoperative outcomes and the overall poor study designs, it is possible that many of the positive changes associated with the use of the checklist were due to temporal changes, confounding factors and publication bias.

Standardizing preoperative preparation to reduce surgical site infections among pediatric neurosurgical patients

OBJECTIVE Surgical site infections (SSIs) are costly to patients and the health care system. Pediatric neurosurgery SSI risk factors are not well defined. Intraoperative protocols have reduced, but have not eliminated, SSIs. The effect of preoperative intervention is unknown. Using quality improvement methods, a preoperative SSI prevention protocol for pediatric neurosurgical patients was implemented to assess its effect on SSI rate. METHODS Patients who underwent a scheduled neurosurgical procedure between January 2014 and December 2015 were included. Published evidence and provider consensus were used to guide preoperative protocol development. The Model for Improvement was used to test interventions. Intraoperative and postoperative management was not standardized or modified systematically. Staff, family, and overall adherence was measured as all-or-nothing. In addition, SSI rates among eligible procedures were measured before and after protocol implementation. RESULTS Within 4 months, overall protocol adherence increased from 51.3% to a sustained 85.7%. SSI rates decreased from 2.9 per 100 procedures preintervention to 0.62 infections postintervention (p = 0.003). An approximate 79% reduction in SSI risk was identified (risk ratio 0.21, 95% CI 0.08-0.56; p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Clinical staff and families successfully collaborated on a standardized preoperative protocol for pediatric neurosurgical patients. Standardization of the preoperative phase of care alone reduced SSI rates. Attention to the preoperative in addition to the intraoperative and postoperative phases of care may lead to further reduction in SSI rates.

Perioperative Safety in Plastic Surgery: Is the World Health Organization Checklist Useful in a Broad Practice?

INTRODUCTION

In October 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the Safe Surgery Saves Lives Program, the cornerstone of which was a 19-item safe-surgery checklist (SSC), in 8 selected hospitals around the world. After implementation, death rates decreased significantly from 1.5% to 0.8% (P = 0.003), inpatient complications reduced from 11% to 7% (P < 0.001), as did rates of surgical site infection (P < 0.001) and wrong-sided surgery (P < 0.47), across all sites. On the basis of these impressive reductions in complications and mortality, our institution adopted the WHO SSC in April 2009, with a few additional measures included, such as assuring presence of appropriate implants and administration of preoperative antibiotics and thromboembolic prophylaxis. Our purpose was to evaluate the efficacy and applicability of the surgical safety checklist in a multisurgeon plastic surgery hospital-based practice, by analyzing its effect on morbidity and outcomes.

METHODS

A retrospective review of the morbidity and mortality data from the Department of Plastic Surgery at Loma Linda University Medical Center was conducted from January 2006 to July 2012. Data on morbidity and mortality before and after implementation of the surgical safety checklist were analyzed.

RESULTS

The most common complications were wound related, including infection, seroma and/or hematoma, dehiscence, and flap-related complications. No significant decrease in the measured complications, neither total nor each specific complication, occurred after the implementation of the SSC. Although verifying appropriate administration of antibiotic, presence of appropriate equipment and materials, performing a preoperative formal pause, and verifying the execution of the other measures included in the SSC is critical, untoward outcomes after implementation of the checklist did not measurably decrease. In its current form as this time, the checklist does not seem to be efficacious in Plastic Surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

Although certain elements of the WHO SSC checklist are universal and should be adopted, certain specific aspects require modification to improve applicability in a plastic surgery-specific practice. This necessitates the creation of a surgical safety checklist specifically for plastic surgery as other surgical specialties have proposed.

Complicações pós-operatórias em neurocirurgia eletiva e não eletiva

Resumo Objetivo Avaliar a incidência de complicações pós-operatorias e mortalidade entre pacientes submetidos a neurocirurcia eletiva e não eletiva. Metodos Estudo de coorte prospectivo com pacientes adultos, acompanhados desde o período pré-operatório até a alta hospitalar ou óbito. Resultados Foram incluídos 127 pacientes no grupo cirúrgico eletivo e 75 pacientes no grupo cirúrgico não eletivo. O grupo eletivo teve mais vômitos (p=0,010) e dor (p<0,001) e o grupo não eletivo apresentou mais hipertensão intracraniana (p=0,001), anisocoria (p=0,002), vasoespasmo cerebral (p=0,043), pupilas não fotorreagentes (p=0,006) e reoperação (p=0,046). A taxa de mortalidade foi de 5,5% no grupo de cirurgia eletiva e 26,7% no grupo de cirurgia não eletiva (p<0,001). Conclusão Os procedimentos eletivos em neurocirurgia estão relacionados a maior frequência de complicações sistêmicas, enquanto as cirurgias não eletivas tiveram taxas significativamente mais altas de complicações neurológicas e mortalidade.

The impact of surgical safety checklists on theatre departments: a critical review of the literature

The World Health Organisation's Safer Surgery Checklist has become an integral part of standard practice in operating theatres in the UK and other countries. However, some doubts still exist over how much of an effect the checklist actually has, with some staff feeling some resentment towards it. This review explores the literature regarding the impact of the checklist on theatre departments and how this can inform practice. The evidence found shows that use of the checklist reduces patient morbidity and mortality, improves communication and teamwork, reduces operating time and can reduce theatre costs. The negative perceptions that surround the checklist arise from misconceptions and lack of understanding and can result in poor compliance. Further research is required across all areas but with a focus on education and implementation of strategies that address existing barriers.

Checklists in Neurosurgery to Decrease Preventable Medical Errors: A Review

Neurosurgery represents a zero tolerance environment for medical errors, especially preventable ones like all types of wrong site surgery, complications due to the incorrect positioning of patients for neurosurgical interventions and complications due to failure of the devices required for the specific procedure. Following the excellent and encouraging results of the safety checklists in intensive care medicine and in other surgical areas, the checklist was naturally introduced in neurosurgery. To date, the reported world experience with neurosurgical checklists is limited to 15 series with fewer than 20,000 cases in various neurosurgical areas. The purpose of this review was to study the reported neurosurgical checklists according to the following parameters: year of publication; country of origin; area of neurosurgery; type of neurosurgical procedure-elective or emergency; person in charge of the checklist completion; participants involved in completion; whether they prevented incorrect site surgery; whether they prevented complications due to incorrect positioning of the patients for neurosurgical interventions; whether they prevented complications due to failure of the devices required for the specific procedure; their specific aims; educational preparation and training; the time needed for checklist completion; study duration and phases; number of cases included; barriers to implementation; efforts to implementation; team appreciation; and safety outcomes. Based on this analysis, it could be concluded that neurosurgical checklists represent an efficient, reliable, cost-effective and time-saving tool for increasing patient safety and elevating the neurosurgeons' self-confidence. Every neurosurgical department must develop its own neurosurgical checklist or adopt and modify an existing one according to its specific features and needs in an attempt to establish or develop its safety culture. The world, continental, regional and national neurosurgical societies could promote safety checklists and their benefits.

A checklist for endonasal transsphenoidal anterior skull base surgery

OBJECT Approximately 250 million surgical procedures are performed annually worldwide, and data suggest that major complications occur in 3%-17% of them. Many of these complications can be classified as avoidable, and previous studies have demonstrated that preoperative checklists improve operating room teamwork and decrease complication rates. Although the authors' institution has instituted a general preoperative "time-out" designed to streamline communication, flatten vertical authority gradients, and decrease procedural errors, there is no specific checklist for transnasal transsphenoidal anterior skull base surgery, with or without endoscopy. Such minimally invasive cranial surgery uses a completely different conceptual approach, set-up, instrumentation, and operative procedure. Therefore, it can be associated with different types of complications as compared with open cranial surgery. The authors hypothesized that a detailed, procedure-specific, preoperative checklist would be useful to reduce errors, improve outcomes, decrease delays, and maximize both teambuilding and operational efficiency. Thus, the object of this study was to develop such a checklist for endonasal transsphenoidal anterior skull base surgery. METHODS An expert panel was convened that consisted of all members of the typical surgical team for transsphenoidal endoscopic cases: neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, circulating nurses, scrub technicians, surgical operations managers, and technical assistants. Beginning with a general checklist, procedure-specific items were added and categorized into 4 pauses: Anesthesia Pause, Surgical Pause, Equipment Pause, and Closure Pause. RESULTS The final endonasal transsphenoidal anterior skull base surgery checklist is composed of the following 4 pauses. The Anesthesia Pause consists of patient identification, diagnosis, pertinent laboratory studies, medications, surgical preparation, patient positioning, intravenous/arterial access, fluid management, monitoring, and other special considerations (e.g., Valsalva, jugular compression, lumbar drain, and so on). The Surgical Pause is composed of personnel introductions, planned procedural elements, estimation of duration of surgery, anticipated blood loss and fluid management, imaging, specimen collection, and questions of a surgical nature. The Equipment Pause assures proper function and availability of the microscope, endoscope, cameras and recorders, guidance systems, special instruments, ultrasonic microdoppler, microdebrider, drills, and other adjunctive supplies (e.g., Avitene, cotton balls, nasal packs, and so on). The Closure Pause is dedicated to issues of immediate postoperative patient disposition, orders, and management. CONCLUSIONS Surgical complications are a considerable cause of death and disability worldwide. Checklists have been shown to be an effective tool for reducing preventable errors surrounding surgery and decreasing associated complications. Although general checklists are already in place in most institutions, a specific checklist for endonasal transsphenoidal anterior skull base surgery was developed to help safeguard patients, improve outcomes, and enhance teambuilding.

Analysis of neurosurgical reoperations: use of a surgical checklist and reduction of infection-related and preventable complication-related reoperations

OBJECT

Use of the WHO surgical checklist has been proven to reduce surgical morbidity and mortality, but its effect on surgical complications requiring reoperation has not been previously studied. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of the WHO surgical checklist would have an impact on the number and causes of neurosurgical complications leading to a reoperation.

METHODS

The authors retrospectively gathered information on all neurosurgical reoperations using hospital discharge data as well as the operations and procedures registry, and tracked all primary neurosurgical operations (n = 175) preceding a complication-related reoperation from 2007 to 2011. There were a total of 5418 neurosurgical operations during the study period. For further analysis of electronic patient records, the primary operations were divided into 2 groups based on the time of the WHO surgical checklist implementation in the authors' unit: 103 operations before and 72 after the introduction of the checklist. Observed adverse events and reoperations were categorized as preventable or unpreventable, and the actual use of the checklist during each operation was recorded.

RESULTS

The overall rate of preventable complication-related neurosurgical reoperations decreased from 3.3% (95% CI 2.7%–4.0%) to 2.0% (95% CI 1.5%–2.6%) after the checklist implementation. The reoperations were mainly due to wound infections, 46% before and 39% after the checklist. All infection-related reoperations proportioned to all neurosurgical operations (2.5% before vs 1.6% after checklist implementation) showed a significant reduction (p = 0.02) after the implementation of the checklist. In particular, there was a significant decrease (p = 0.006) in the rate of preventable infections associated with reoperations, i.e., 2.2% before versus 1.2% after checklist implementation. The overall adherence to checklist use (the “time out” phase) in neurosurgical operations was 78%, and adherence was 70% in primary operations preceding a complication-related reoperation regarded as preventable.

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation of the WHO surgical checklist in neurosurgery was associated with a decrease in complication-related reoperations, especially those due to preventable infection complications, the majority of which were wound infections. The adherence to checklist use in individual operations after the checklist implementation did not appear to have an impact on the results.

Adverse events in neurosurgery and their relationship to quality improvement

Adverse events are common in neurosurgery. Their reporting is inconsistent and widely variable due to nonuniform definitions, data collection mechanisms, and retrospective data collection. Historically, neurosurgery has lagged behind general and cardiac surgical fields in the creation of multi-institutional prospective databases allowing for benchmarking and accurate adverse event/outcomes measurement, the bedrock of evidence used to guide quality improvement initiatives. The National Neurosurgery Quality and Outcomes Database has begun to address this issue by collecting prospective, multi-institutional outcomes data in neurosurgical patients. Once reliable outcomes exist, various targeted quality improvement strategies may be used to reduce adverse events and improve outcomes.

National treatment trends, complications, and predictors of in-hospital charges for the surgical management of craniopharyngiomas in adults from 2007 to 2011

Object

Treatment of craniopharyngiomas is one of the most demanding and controversial neurosurgical procedures performed. The authors sought to determine the factors associated with hospital charges and fees for craniopharyngioma treatment to identify possible opportunities for improving the health care economics of inpatient care.

Methods

The authors analyzed the hospital discharge database of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) covering the period from 2007 through 2011 to examine national treatment trends for adults (that is, those older than 18 years) who had undergone surgery for craniopharyngioma. To predict the drivers of in-hospital charges, a multistep regression model was developed that accounted for patient demographics, acuity measures, comorbidities, hospital characteristics, and complications.

Results

The analysis included 606 patients who underwent resection of craniopharyngioma; 353 resections involved a transsphenoidal approach (58%) and 253 a transfrontal approach (42%). The mean age (± SD) of patients was 47.7 ± 16.3 years. The average hospital length of stay (LOS) was 7.6 ± 9 days. The mean hospital charge (± SD) was $92,300 ± $83,356. In total, 48% of the patients experienced postoperative diabetes insipidus or an electrolyte abnormality. A multivariate regression model demonstrated that LOS, hospital volume for the selected procedure, the surgical approach, postoperative complications, comorbidities, and year of surgery were all significant predictors of in-hospital charges. The statistical model accounted for 54% of the variance in in-hospital charge.

Conclusions

This analysis of inpatient hospital charges in patients undergoing craniopharyngioma surgery identified key drivers of charges in the perioperative period. Prospective studies designed to evaluate the long-term resource utilization in this complex patient population would be a useful future direction.